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Abstract

The destruction of Stalin's system of penal repression has been accelerated after XX Congress of the Communist Party of Soviet Union (February 1956). Substantial works on general changes in penal law were undertaken then. On December 25th 1958 the Supreme Soviet has passed 'The Fundamental Principles of Criminal Law of the USSR and Soviet Republics'. After that, between 1959 and 1961 new criminal codes were introduced in all Soviet republics (including Russian Federation, in 1960). These legal acts were oriented on the penal prevention of socialist political system and ownership. Repression, general and individual crime prevention, resocialization (re-education) were declared as purposes of punishment. History of Soviet Russia and USSR shows that repeating decisions of abolishing death penalty had basically political character and were used for propaganda purposes - especially during home war. This is one of many examples of the drastic divergence between declarations and law from one side and reality on the other. 'Total lie' is one of the characteristic features of the red totalitarianism (according to Leszek Kolakowski). Penal legislation 1958-1961 can be treated as a turning point in the system of Soviet criminal law. For the first time since 1917 the legislation has approached Soviet penal law to European legal standards, by reference to neoclassical school of penal law. Despite many changes, these legal acts survived Soviet Union and created new system of Soviet penal law.

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